Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or Yashahime.

Chapter 7: Setsuna of the Nine Tails

Towa and Suzumi spent most of the next day at school. It ended up being a fairly ordinary day, though Towa was a little dismayed when the teachers asked her if she had recovered from the strange purple rash her great-grandfather had claimed as the reason she had been absent the previous day. It had been hard for Suzumi and Towa to concentrate on classes though. Towa's mind especially was still reeling from everything that had happened. Once the school day finally ended, Towa and Suzumi immediately headed for the Higurashi Shrine.

The two had decided they would try again to reason with Inuyasha and get him to help against the terror from the year 5000 that was after Suzumi. When Towa and Suzumi arrived at the house, they were not at all surprised to find Kazuki waiting in front of the old shrine with Moroha.

"Hi Moroha," Towa greeted as she and Suzumi came up. "You didn't spend the night at Kazuki's again last night, did you?"

"Nah. I've only been over here for the last couple of hours," Moroha answered. "I spent a few minutes chatting with Grandma and Great-Grandpa, then I went over to Kazuki's place."

"I assume we're all going back through time?" Kazuki asked.

Towa nodded. "Yeah. I'm hoping we can get my uncle to reconsider helping Suzumi."

"Moroha, did your father and mother say anything at all about my problem?" Suzumi asked.

"Nope. They spent most of last night arguing about Kazuki actually," Moroha answered, putting her hands behind her head. "For some reason, my dad doesn't seem to like him much. Can't figure out why."

"Oh…I think I have a pretty good idea why," Kazuki responded as he pulled on his collar. "Anyway, we should be off."

Suzumi and Towa nodded and the four headed into the old shrine. Once inside the four dove into the well and in a matter of seconds they were back in the past. They began to head for the village with Moroha in the lead and Suzumi taking up the rear. Suddenly Moroha came to a stop and held out a hand to the others as a signal to do the same.

"Did you hear something?" Towa asked, becoming alert.

"No, but I smell something," Moroha answered as her hand went for her sword. "Can't you smell it too?"

Towa sniffed the air. "Yeah. I don't know why I didn't notice it before."

"Not surprised since there are no demons where you're from, but we're surrounded by 'em. And from the scent, it's more of those soldiers."

Towa gripped the handle of her broken sword. "Kazuki, keep an eye on Suzumi."

Kazuki nodded. "Not exactly the right guy for this sort of job, but I'll do my best."

Everything was silent for a few moments, then suddenly a twig snapped. Two armored cyber oni emerged from the trees. In the same instant Moroha drew her sword while Towa activated her energy blade. The two soldiers reached for their blasters, but before they could even draw them Towa decapitated the soldier in front of her while Moroha sliced off the arm of the other. Moroha finished the soldier off by slicing his body right down the middle. Another pair of cyber oni emerged from the trees from behind and advanced on Kazuki and Suzumi. Towa tackled one of them and stabbed him through the chest with her blade.

Meanwhile Moroha swung her sword at the remaining soldier, only to have her blade clash against the sword the soldier had drawn. Towa charged in from behind though and cut off the soldier's sword arm, causing sparks to fly from the exposed circuitry. Moroha finished the cybernetic demon off by decapitating him.

"We better get to the village, fast!" Towa realized. "More of those things are probably gonna show up."

Both Suzumi and Kazuki nodded and were about to make a run for the village. They didn't even get two steps though when Kazuki found a blade pointed inches away from his face. The blade was attached to the end of a naginata with a dark-blue handle, and holding the weapon was a young woman about Towa's age. She had long dark hair with two red streaks along the sides, tied back in a ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a black bodysuit with dark-blue armor covering her chest and left shoulder, and a pair of dark-blue boots. A sword hung from her belt, and emblazoned on her chest plate was the yellow emblem of a nine-tailed fox. Hanging from her right shoulder was a long boa of white fur that went all the way down to the ground and split into two tails at the end.

"I am Setsuna of the Nine Tails," the young woman announced. "Hand over the girl and I will spare your lives."

Towa was instantly stunned. The years had passed obviously, but she recognized the girl who was now pointing a weapon at Suzumi.

"Setsuna!" Towa called. "Is it really you?"

"Am I supposed to know you?" Setsuna coldly responded, not once taking her eyes off Kazuki.

"Setsuna, it's me! Your sister! I know it's been a really long time, but surly you recognize me!"

"I have no family. I am but a soldier of the empire. My only reason for existence is to serve the empire and carry out the will of the empress. Now hand over the girl."

Kazuki took a big gulp and steeled himself. "No way in hell."

"Suit yourself," Setsuna responded before she raised her naginata.

Before Setsuna could swing down her weapon, Moroha flew in and delivered a kick to her gut, forcing Setsuna back. Though momentarily stunned, Setsuna quickly recovered.

"Well this sucks," Moroha declared. "She really is Towa's sister. I can tell by her scent. Guess I'm gonna have to fight my own cousin."

"I don't have time for this nonsense!" Setsuna declared before slashing the air with her naginata. "Scourge of Swallows!"

A burst of green light had formed at the end of the blade mid-swing and shot apart into several small bird-shaped projectiles. Kazuki tackled Suzumi into the nearby bushes to avoid the attack. Towa managed to jump out of the birds' path. Moroha avoided all but one of the projectiles, which caught her in her left shoulder.

Moroha recovered and raised her sword in the air. "Crimson Dragon Wave!"

As Moroha swung her sword downward, a dragon of red light flew from her blade at Setsuna. As it came in range though, Setsuna used her naginata to knock the attack away.

"You're beginning to annoy me!" Setsuna declared as she began to spin her naginata in front of her like a propeller. "Cyclone Burst!"

A powerful whirlwind shot from the naginata at both Moroha and Towa. Both of them just barely managed to jump out of the way of the attack in time.

"Setsuna, stop!" Towa begged. "We shouldn't be fighting! We're family!"

"More nonsense!" Setsuna declared before slashing the air again with her weapon. "Scourge of Swallows!"

Once again a burst of green energy formed at the end of Setsuna's blade mid-swing and exploded into another flock of birds. Each of them them headed straight for Towa. This time Towa didn't try to jump out of the way. She was too stunned by what was happening. At the very last second though, Moroha dove in and knocked her out of the flock's path, but in the process received another wound to her left arm from one of the birds.

"Dammit," Moroha cursed as she slowly got back up. "It's been a pretty long time since I've been driven into a corner like this."

"Moroha…are you okay?" Towa asked.

"Yeah, but get your head in the game, will ya? I get what a big deal this is, but right now Setsuna's our enemy."

"Are you ready to give up?" Setsuna asked.

"Oh I'm just getting started," Moroha responded as she pulled out a tiny clamshell.

Moroha opened the shell, revealing some sort of red substance inside. She put a little of the substance on her pinky and brought it close to her mouth.

"With this rouge I become Beniyasha, the destroyer of lands," Moroha declared, smiling. "Tremble in fear at the blood-thirsty dawn!"

"More nonsense?" Setsuna indifferently responded.

Moroha ignored Setsuna's comment and put the rouge on her lips. The moment she did, her body began to glow with a red aura. Small purple marks appeared by her eyes, which became the same shade of gold as her father's. Her claws had also become sharper. Upon seeing this transformation, Setsuna became more alert.

Meanwhile Moroha put her hand to one of her wounds and flung the blood still spilling from them. "Blades of Blood!"

The blood hardened into glowing projectiles, which Setsuna quickly managed to knock away with her naginata. Shortly afterwards though, Moroha charged in with incredible speed and stabbed the claws of her right hand deep into Setsuna's gut. Setsuna coughed up blood soon after. Moroha then slashed Setsuna in the face with the claws of her left hand, knocking her away. Setsuna managed to get up on one knee and prepared for another attack, but suddenly Moroha stopped glowing and collapsed. Surprised, Setsuna finally got to her feet and cautiously approached Moroha.

Suddenly Kazuki burst from the bushes, knelt down next to Moroha and pointed his blaster at her. "I'm a terrible shot, but I'm sure even I can hit you at this close a range. Now back off!"

Setsuna ignored his warning and continued to advance, but stopped when she heard the shout of another voice. "Adamant Barrage!"

Several large diamond spears flew from the trees right at Setsuna. Setsuna managed to jump back out of the way of most of them, but one of the spears caught her in the right shoulder. Inuyasha then emerged from the trees. The massive blade of his sword looked like a jewel.

"More of you future soldiers, huh?" Inuyasha observed as he glared at Setsuna. "You bastards are starting to piss me off. I'm gonna get rid of you like I got rid of that damn moth!"

"Uncle, stop!" Towa called. "That's Setsuna!"

"What?" Inuyasha responded, stunned.

Setsuna used this moment of distraction to press the watch-like device on her wrist. A second later she had vanished with a flash of red light.

"What the hell's goin' on here?" Inuyasha asked as he sheathed his sword. He then heard Moroha start to snore and found her on the ground. "Aw dammit! She used the rouge again? How many times have I told that girl to not use it unless it's absolutely necessary?"

"Well, it seemed like she didn't have much choice under the circumstances, sir," Kazuki responded. "But if I might ask, what did happen to Moroha? When she put on that lipstick, it seemed like she became more powerful."

Inuyasha nodded. "The rouge she used was something that belonged to my mom. Whenever Moroha uses it though, the power of her demon blood gets stronger. But it only lasts for about a minute, and afterwards she's out cold for an entire day."

Kazuki put a hand to his chin. "So it's some sort of genetic steroid?"

"Never mind all that! We better get back to the village. Then maybe you can explain to me what the hell just happened."

Once everyone had gotten back to Inuyasha and Kagome's house, Kazuki and Suzumi recounted everything that had happened in the forest with Setsuna. Kazuki meanwhile had been keeping a close eye on Moroha, and was relieved to find her injuries had almost completely healed. Towa had been silent during the entire conversation. Her mind was still reeling from Setsuna being an enemy.

Kagome shook her head. "I just can't believe Setsuna is a soldier for this empire from the future."

"She's not just a simple soldier," Suzumi told them. "She's one of the Nine Tails, the most powerful warriors in the empire. They answer directly to Tamamo no Mae herself. Saionji, the moth demon from yesterday was a member of the Nine Tails as well."

"If they let a wimpy demon like that into their ranks, they can't be too strong," Inuyasha remarked.

"I'd sure like to know how Towa's sister ended up as a soldier for the empire though," Kazuki interjected. "Let alone be one of their most elite warriors."

"After what Saionji said happened when he tried to capture me in the past, I thought this might be a possibility," Suzumi admitted. "Towa's sister must've ended up in my time with me, but unlike me was captured by the empire. Instead of killing her, they sent her to the academy to become a soldier."

"Academy?" Kagome asked.

"Every human child in Tokyo born to a certain station among the humans there are sent to an elite military academy at the age of four or five. Right away they're conditioned to serve as soldiers of the empire. They forget all about their families and view themselves as nothing more than disposable pawns. Though some of them do manage to become high-ranking officers. Setsuna was probably an exception of sorts due to her half-demon abilities."

"So in other words, Setsuna's been brainwashed," Kazuki realized.

Towa suddenly got up and silently left the house. She stood outside and began to stare down at her hand.

Kagome finally came out of the house after her. "Towa? Are you okay?"

Towa didn't turn to look at her gaze and continued looking at her hand. "That day…if I had just been able to hold onto Setsuna's hand that day…none of this would've happened."

"You don't know that," Kagome told her as she put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, I do!" Towa shouted with tears in her eyes. "What's happened to Setsuna is all my fault! It's all my…"

Towa trailed off and began sobbing. Kagome pulled her into a hug and Towa began to cry into her shoulder. Meanwhile the whole time Inuyasha had been watching from the doorway of the house.

Setsuna stood before the doors of Tamamo no Mae's throne room. Her injuries had fully healed. After taking a deep breath, Setsuna pushed open the doors and entered the throne room. She barely felt the wave of ice-cold air that hit her as she went in. Setsuna immediately saw Tamamo no Mae sitting atop her couch and became filled with both terror and awe. To her, Tamamo no Mae's beauty and charisma were so great that she could refuse her no wish, as was the case with all who entered the presence of the legendary vixen.

"Setsuna dear, I heard you had some trouble with the mission I sent you on," Tamamo no Mae spoke.

"Forgive me, Empress," Setsuna responded. "The enemies I was up against were stronger than expected, the quarter-demon especially."

Tamamo no Mae shook her head. "Tsk, tsk. So much trouble from a mere quarter-demon? Really Setsuna. I expect far better from a member of the Nine Tails."

"I have no excuse. I am ready for my execution."

"Oh now we don't need to go that far. I like you too much Setsuna. Plus it's so hard to find warriors of your caliber for the Nine Tails. Why I imagine it'll be months before I find someone to replace poor Saionji. I'm going to give you another chance."

"I am eternally grateful, milady."

"Of course, you must still be punished," Tamamo no Mae declared as she got to her feet and started to undo her robe. "And of course I will be administering this punishment personally. Now undress. As the first part of your punishment, you're going to pleasure me."

Setsuna cringed a little but began to remove her armor. "As you command, Empress."

Please review and let me know what you think.